View source for Fetlar

{{Short description|One of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox Scottish island |
|location_map=Scotland Shetland
|caption=Fetlar shown within Shetland
|coordinates={{coord|60.60|-0.87|display=inline,title}}
|GridReference=HU620919
|norse name=Fætilar<ref>Anderson (1873) preface</ref>
|meaning of name=Unclear
|area={{cvt|4078|ha|sqmi|frac=8}}
|area rank=25
|highest elevation=Vord Hill {{cvt|158|m|ft|0}}
|Population=66<ref name=RESAS>{{RESAS}}</ref>
|population density={{cvt|1.6|PD/km2}}<ref name=RESAS/><ref name=Smith/>
|population rank=50
|main settlement=Houbie
|island group=[[Shetland Mainland|Shetland]]
|local authority=[[Shetland|Shetland Islands]]
|references=<ref name=Smith>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 471–74</ref><ref name=OS>{{Ordnance Survey}}</ref>
|Image=Southdale with the Manse and Tresta in the background - geograph.org.uk - 534315.jpg}}
[[File:Fetlar Houbie Buildings.jpg|thumb|right|Leagarth House, Houbie]]

'''Fetlar''' is one of the [[North Isles]] of [[Shetland]], [[Scotland]], with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census<ref>{{NRS1C}}</ref> and 66 in 2022.<ref name=RESAS/> Its main settlement is [[Houbie]] on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Other settlements include [[Aith, Fetlar|Aith]], [[Funzie]], [[Herra, Shetland|Herra]] and [[Tresta]]. Fetlar is the fourth-largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over {{cvt|4000|ha|acre}}.

==Etymology==
There are three island names in [[Shetland]] of unknown and possibly pre-Celtic origin: Fetlar, Unst and Yell. The earliest recorded forms of these three names do carry Norse meanings: ''Fetlar'' is the plural of ''fetill'' and means "shoulder-straps", ''Omstr'' is "corn-stack", and ''í Ála'' is from ''ál'' meaning "deep furrow". However, these descriptions are hardly obvious ones as island names, and are probably adaptations of a pre-Norse language.<ref>Gammeltoft (2010) p. 17</ref><ref name=G19>Gammeltoft (2010) pp. 19–20</ref> This may have been [[Pict]]ish but there is no clear evidence for this.<ref name=G9>Gammeltoft (2010) p. 9</ref><ref>[http://shetlopedia.com/Norn "Norn"] Shetlopedia. Retrieved 23 January 2011.</ref> Haswell-Smith suggests a meaning of "prosperous land"<ref name=Smith/> and that the island's name may mean "two islands strapped together" by the Funzie Girt. It was recorded as "Fötilør" in 1490,<ref name=HS473>Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 473</ref> and as "Pheodor Oy" in 1654.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/00000495 |title=View map: Orcadum et Schetlandiae Insularum accuratissima descriptio. – Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654}}</ref>

==History==
One of the strange features of Fetlar is a huge wall that goes across the island known as the [[Funzie Girt]] or Finnigirt Dyke.<ref>[http://www.fetlar.com/archaeology.htm "Finnigirt Dyke"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193200/http://www.fetlar.com/archaeology.htm |date=3 March 2016}} fetlar.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008</ref> It is thought to date from the [[Mesolithic]] period. So sharp was the division between the two halves of the island that the Norse talked of East and West Isle separately.<ref name=Smith/>

[[File:Urielingey.jpg|thumb|[[Urie Lingey]] with Fetlar in the background]]
Another attraction on the island is the Gothic [[Brough Lodge]], built by Arthur Nicolson in about 1820, and which is undergoing restoration by the Brough Lodge Trust.<ref>[http://www.fetlar.com/brough/ "Brough Lodge Trust"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213315/http://www.fetlar.com/brough/ |date=4 March 2016}} fetlar.com. Retrieved 30 April 2008.</ref> The Fetlar [[Herding dog|sheepdog]] trials take place annually, normally in July. The Fetlar Foy, once very popular with Shetlanders and tourists alike, took place at midsummer on the Links at Tresta where folk were entertained with music, food and drink.<ref>[http://www.johnsmasfoy.com/WhatsOn2008.aspx?EventID=487%3A%3A609ba849-8ecc-426c-8d28-4bb7286fe176&FromFromDate=19%20Jun%202008&FromToDate=29%20Jun%202008 "10th Anniversary Fetlar Foy"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106170859/http://www.johnsmasfoy.com/WhatsOn2008.aspx?EventID=487%3A%3A609ba849-8ecc-426c-8d28-4bb7286fe176&FromFromDate=19%20Jun%202008&FromToDate=29%20Jun%202008 |date=6 January 2016}} johnsmasfoy.com. Retrieved 2 June 2008.</ref>

===Famous son===
Its most famous son was [[Sir William Cheyne, 1st Baronet|Sir William Watson Cheyne Bt FRS FRCS]], a close associate of [[Lord Lister]] and one of the pioneers of [[antiseptic]]s. He was professor of surgery at [[King's College London]], President of the [[Royal College of Surgeons of England]] and wrote many books on medical treatments. He was made a baronet for services to medicine in 1908, and later was an MP—first for the [[Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities (UK Parliament constituency)|Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews]], and then for the [[Combined Scottish Universities (UK Parliament constituency)|Combined Scottish Universities]]—between 1917 and 1922. He was lord-lieutenant of the Shetland Islands from 1919 to 1930. Cheyne died on 19 April 1932.

Fetlar was home to the [[Society of Our Lady of the Isles]], an Anglican religious order for women, until it moved to [[Unst]] in 2015.

===Fishing and shipwrecks===
The island has a long tradition of fishing. According to [[Guinness World Records]], in August 2012 what was then the oldest [[message in a bottle]], released in June 1914, was found by Andrew Leaper, skipper of the ''Copious'', coincidentally the same fishing vessel involved in a previous record recovery in 2006. The bottle, and Mr Leaper's World Record certificate, have been donated to the Fetlar Interpretative Centre.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19422354 "World record as message in bottle found after 98 years near Shetland"] BBC News. Retrieved 30 August 2012.</ref> Fetlar also has an international selection of shipwrecks including [[Denmark|Danish]], [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[Germany|German]], [[England|English]] and [[USSR|Soviet]] vessels.<ref name=Smith/>

==Geography and geology==
Fetlar has a very complex geology, including [[gneiss]] in the west, [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphosed]] [[gabbro]] and [[phyllite]], and [[kaolin]]. There is also [[antigorite]] and [[steatite]] here. [[Talc]] was mined here.<ref name=Smith/> The east of the island is part of the Shetland [[ophiolite]] complex (a section of the Earth's [[oceanic crust]] and the underlying [[upper mantle (Earth)|upper mantle]] that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level).

Fetlar is surrounded by a number of small islands, particularly in the sound between it and Unst. These include to the north: [[Daaey]], [[Haaf Gruney]], [[Sound Gruney]], [[Urie Lingey]] and [[Uyea, Unst|Uyea]]; and to the west: [[Hascosay]] and [[Linga, Yell|Linga]].

It is separated from Hascosay and [[Yell (island)|Yell]] by [[Colgrave Sound]]. Much further to the south are the [[Out Skerries]] and [[Whalsay]].

==Nature and conservation==
Fetlar's wildlife is as varied as its geology. For example, over two hundred species of wild flower have been identified here.<ref name=Smith/> The island is known as "The Garden of Shetland", due to its highly fertile soil.<ref name=HS473/>

The northern part of Fetlar is a [[RSPB]] reserve, home to several important breeding species including [[Arctic skua]]s and [[Eurasian whimbrel]]s. The Lamb Hoga peninsula and nearby Haaf Gruney have some of the largest colonies of [[European storm petrel]].<ref name=Smith/> In total the island supports 20,000 individual seabirds, including nationally important populations of [[Arctic skua]], [[Northern fulmar]], [[great skua]], [[Arctic tern]] and [[red-necked phalarope]].<ref name=spa-citation/> Of greatest importance are red-necked phalaropes, for which the [[Loch of Funzie]] is the most important breeding site in the [[United Kingdom]], and for a while during the 1990s was the only breeding site in the country. A pair of [[snowy owl]]s famously bred here in the 1960s and early 1970s.<ref>[http://www.fetlar.com/exhibits.htm "Fetlar Museum"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219153641/http://fetlar.com/exhibits.htm |date=19 February 2016 }} fetlar.com. Retrieved 1 May 2008.</ref> They lasted until the 1980s before disappearing. However, a snowy owl was spotted on Fetlar in October 2018.<ref name="Snowy_owl">{{Cite web |date=10 October 2018 |title=Snowy owls return |url=http://www.fetlar.org/snowy-owls-return |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628142011/https://www.fetlar.org/snowy-owls-return |archive-date=28 June 2019 |website=Fetlar: The Garden of Shetland}}</ref> Most of the island, with some adjacent islets, has been designated an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]].<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url= https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/2471 |title=Fetlar|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 2024-09-02}}</ref>

Fetlar, and the seas around it, hold several overlapping [[Protected areas of Scotland|conservation designations]]:
*The North Fetlar [[Special Area of Conservation]] (SAC) covers {{cvt|1585|ha|acre}} of the island, and protects the islands dry [[heath]]s and base-rich [[fen]]s .<ref name="sac">{{Cite web |title=North Fetlar SAC |url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8338 |access-date=8 October 2020 |publisher=NatureScot}}</ref>
*The Fetlar [[Special Protection Area]] (SPA), covers {{cvt|16965|ha|acre}} of the island and surrounding seas due to the importance of this habitat for many species of seabirds.<ref name="spa">{{Cite web |title=Fetlar SPA |url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/8498 |access-date=8 October 2020 |publisher=NatureScot}}</ref><ref name="spa-citation">{{Cite web |date=September 2009 |title=Fetlar SPA Citation |url=https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/8498/documents/16 |access-date=11 October 2019 |publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage |archive-date=30 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130101745/https://apps.snh.gov.uk/sitelink-api/v1/sites/8498/documents/16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
*The Fetlar to Haroldswick [[Marine Protected Areas in Scotland|Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area]] protects {{cvt|21600|ha|acre}} of sea. It completely surrounds Fetlar, and extends to cover all sea between the islands and the neighbouring islands of [[Yell, Shetland|Yell]] and [[Unst]] from the Colgrave Sound to [[Haroldswick]].<ref name="mpa">{{Cite web |title=Fetlar to Haroldswick MPA(NC) |url=https://sitelink.nature.scot/site/10409 |access-date=8 October 2020 |publisher=NatureScot}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
[[Ferry|Ferries]] sail daily from [[Hamars Ness]] on Fetlar to [[Gutcher]] on Yell, and to [[Belmont, Shetland|Belmont]] on Unst. A new breakwater and berthing facility was added at Hamars Ness, and was officially opened on 1 December 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=New pier frees Fetlar to fish at last |url=http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/5998-new-pier-frees-fetlar-to-fish-at-last |access-date=21 December 2015 |publisher=stenews.co.uk |date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222080803/http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/5998-new-pier-frees-fetlar-to-fish-at-last |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There is a communications tower on Fetlar at: 60°36'5.39"N, 0°55'35.44"W. Fetlar is "Under Evaluation" for superfast broadband according to Digital Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalscotland.org/superfast-broadband/the-programme/ |title=Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband |website=digitalscotland.org |access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>

Fetlar has a small [[Aerodrome#Airstrip|airstrip]] with a gravel runway. There are no longer scheduled air services to the island.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Review of Air Services in the Highlands & Islands |date=February 2010 |publisher=Mott McDonald Ltd |location=Croydon}}</ref>

==Community development==
Fetlar Developments Ltd (FDL), a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, was set up by the community to counter the depopulation of the island, which had fallen to just 48 in early 2009, when the 2001 total had been 86.<ref>{{GRO10}}</ref> The development company continue to work towards securing a sustainable future for the island both socially and economically.

Work to install three wind turbines in a [[Community wind energy]] project began in December 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fetlar Wind Ltd |url=http://www.fetlarwind.co.uk/ |access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref>

==Demographics==
In the 2022 census, 63.6% of Fetlar's residents were recorded as born in England, higher than any other area in Shetland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Country of birth - Census Maps, NRS |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/choropleth/demography_and_migration/country-of-birth/cob-cat-p-14/europe-united-kingdom-england?oa=S00174704 |website=Scotland's Census |publisher=National Records of Scotland |at=Contains public sector information licensed under the [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence v3.0]. |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref> 77.2% of residents were recorded as aged 50 or above.<ref>{{cite web |title=Age - Census Maps, NRS |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/choropleth/population/age/age-6-cat-65-plus/aged-50-to-64?oa=S00174704 |website=Scotland's Census |publisher=National Records of Scotland |at=Contains public sector information licensed under the [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence v3.0]. |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Age - Census Maps, NRS |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/atlas/choropleth/population/age/age-6-cat-65-plus/aged-65-and-over?oa=S00174704 |website=Scotland's Census |publisher=National Records of Scotland |at=Contains public sector information licensed under the [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence v3.0]. |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref>

==School==
In 2009 there were 3 primary pupils and 1 nursery pupil at Fetlar primary school, situated at Baela near Houbie.<ref name="school">{{cite web |url=http://www.fetlar.shetland.sch.uk/news/default.shtml |title=News Page |last=Fetlar Primary School |access-date=28 November 2009}}</ref>

The school was reported as having been mothballed in 2022 after its last student left and no new students were expected to join in the following academic year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fetlar Primary School is mothballed |url=https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2022/06/06/fetlar-primary-school-is-mothballed |access-date=24 July 2025 |work=The Shetland Times |date=6 June 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Scottish islands}}
*[[List of islands of Scotland]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Orkneyinga}}
*{{Haswell-Smith}}
*Gammeltoft, Peder (2010) "[http://www.medievalists.net/2011/01/18/shetland-and-orkney-island-names-%E2%80%93-a-dynamic-group/ Shetland and Orkney Island-Names – A Dynamic Group]". ''Northern Lights, Northern Words''. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009, edited by Robert McColl Millar.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fetlar}}
*[http://www.fetlar.org Fetlar community website]

{{North Isles}}
{{Shetland}}
{{Islands of Scotland}}
{{RSPB sites in Scotland}}
{{Marine Protected Areas in Scotland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fetlar| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Shetland]]
[[Category:Parishes of Shetland]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Shetland]]
[[Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Scotland]]
[[Category:Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas of Scotland]]
[[Category:Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland]]
[[Category:Special Protection Areas in Scotland]]